Yangzas, Airbnb SEWA Host- Leh

With the aid of SEWA’s rural homestay program, Hum Sab Ek, Yangzas, a woman farmer from Phyang village in Leh, Ladakh, conducts a homestay rental on Airbnb. For women in Ladakh’s Phyang hamlet, opening their lovely houses to tourists has been a path to social and financial empowerment, as they have long labored unseen as cooks, cleaners, and farmworkers and are now finding new confidence as small scale entrepreneurs.

Yangzas belongs to Phyang which is a mountain village about 15 km from Leh with great views of rugged peaks and cloud-laden blue skies. The village has few job prospects, with the majority of residents working in agriculture and farming.
Yangzas came to Gujarat on an experienced tour as part of her SEWA affiliation and saw how Gujarati women worked and maintained their livelihoods. With the aid of SEWA’s Hum Sab Ek project, Yangzas established the guesthouse, which has already accommodated two international guests. Some guests extend their visits on a regular basis, for example, a guest from Africa who stayed for three months. Another guest from England, together with his pals, extended their stay to ten days.

This warmth and friendliness is now available to all travelers thanks to Airbnb’s and SEWA’s (Self Employed Women’s Association of India) cooperation, which has been extended to Ladakh. This program, which promises a once-in-a-lifetime experience, will allow visitors to live like locals do gain insight into their culture, and most importantly, appreciate a familiar, homey comfort and the simple joys of the local cuisine. Keeping sustainability in mind, these hosts will be setting the standard for energy efficiency and responsible resource use by providing facilities such as recently installed solar lights in their rooms.